NEED TO KNOW
- Madonna made headlines 35 years ago with her single, “Justify My Love,” the first off of The Immaculate Collection
- The music video, released in November 1990, caused controversy for its racy content that was deemed too much to air on MTV
- The music video ban shocked Madonna’s fans, who tuned in weeks earlier to watch her perform at the MTV Video Music Awards
Madonna is no stranger to controversy, but her war with censors over the years is arguably one of her biggest.
Many moments in the singer’s storied career have been noted for being provocative or attention-getting. In November 1985, MTV’s refusal to air the music video for “Justify My Love,” the first single from The Immaculate Collection, made headlines and propelled the single to the top.
The video was filmed in Paris in the weeks after the single was released. Madonna appeared opposite then-boyfriend Tony Ward, and was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
The video featured a tired Madonna running into a mysterious man and woman in a hotel hallway, with the two seducing the singer into a night together, done as a tribute to the 1963 French film Bay of Angels, which starred Jeanne Moreau.
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The sexy video featured hints of sadomasochism, voyeurism and more, and while very suggestive, wasn’t altogether explicit. The most daring image featured a woman who was topless, except for a pair of suspenders that lay across her nipples.
By today’s standards, the video isn’t remarkable, but a mid-80s MTV, still a fairly new network, was among those that refused to air the video.
The decision led to more attention for the single and the video, which was then released on VHS. Madonna fans paid $9.98 to see the nearly 5-minute video, per Entertainment Weekly. It shocked many fans, who had tuned in just weeks before the video’s ban to see the singer perform at the MTV Music Video Awards.
Madonna appeared on Nightline on Dec. 3, 1990, to speak about the decision to ban her video for television audiences.
“When I did my ‘Vogue’ video, there’s a shot of me where I’m wearing a see-through dress, and you can clearly see my breasts. They told me that they wanted me to take that out, but I said I wouldn’t, and they played it anyway,” she explained. “I thought that I was once again going to be able to bend the rules a little bit.”
Speaking to MTV’s decision, Madonna noted, “When we gave it to MTV, we asked if they would play it. They came back a while later and said no. I asked them, ‘Is there one scene or another that you specifically object to?’ They said, ‘No, it was the whole tone.’ So we didn’t even really get a chance to try to make it viewable. They rejected it completely.”
Madonna also responded to accusations that the video was purposely made to be too hot for TV so she could profit from VHS sales.
“It may seem like it was a publicity stunt, and I was very lucky, I must say. But I did not plan on selling this video. The controversy just happened. It wasn’t planned,” she said. “So lucky me.”
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
The singer also asserted that while the video was sexually charged, there were other, more concerning things regularly airing on TV.
“I would like to address the whole issue of censorship on television. Where do we draw the line in general?” she said. “I draw the line in terms of what I think is viewable on television. I draw the line at violence and humiliation and degradation.”
In just two months, “Justify My Love” was No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100. Another month later, the song would be certified platinum. To this day, it remains one of the most memorable pop culture moments in Madonna’s career, starting conversations with her artistry.